The President's Daily Brief - December 11th, 2023: Gaza Timeline, Putin For President, & Tax Troubles For Hunter

Episode Date: December 11, 2023

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: We analyze Israel's planned timeline for military operations in the Gaza Strip amidst rising tensions.   Vladimir Putin positions himself for another presidential term, potentially extending his leadership in Russia until 2030.   Hunter Biden is hit with new federal charges stemming from a Justice Department tax probe.   And in our Back of the Brief segment, more fallout from the controversy surrounding university presidents' responses to antisemitism on campus.   Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief.   Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. We'll begin today's show with the latest from the Gaza Strip, as Israel projects a timeline for their military operations in the Palestinian enclave. Later in the program, Vladimir Putin announces he'll run for another term as Russia's president, which could see him in power until at least 2030. Plus, Hunter Biden faces a new federal indictment on charges connected to a long-running Justice Department investigation into his taxes. And finally, in today's back of the brief, the fallout continues for three university presidents who refused to say that calling for the genocide of Jews would violate their code of conduct on bullying or harassment.

But first up, the PDB spotlight. Israeli tanks have made a significant advance in Kanunis, the second largest city in the Gaza Strip, intensifying the conflict over the weekend. Residents report that following overnight clashes, the tanks have seized control of the central artery of the city, marking a major milestone in the Israeli offensive. Meanwhile, to the north in Gaza City, reports are emerging that a considerable number of Hamas fighters are surrendering. Now, this development might signal a weakening of Hamas's grip on the Gaza Strip. Now, there's some controversy arising over images that many of you may have seen spreading across social media. The photos and videos show Hamas terrorists, captured and

in a state of undress, raising alarms with human rights organizations over potential mistreatment. However, it's worth noting that Palestinian prisoners are stripped because in previous conflicts, surrendering fighters had been known to detonate explosive vests. Look, if you capture a terrorist on the battlefield, stripping him down to his underwear isn't inhumane or dehumanizing. It's operationally necessary to ensure he's not armed or strapped with explosives. If you need verification of that, look up the details of the Camp Chapman attack in Coast province, Afghanistan, back in 2009. Seven of my former colleagues at the CIA, a Jordanian officer

and also an Afghan colleague, were killed when an individual, thought to be a potential intel source, detonated a suicide vest at the outset of a meeting. Now, the useful idiots, trying to turn the narrative to somehow imply that Israeli treatment of Hamas fighters somehow is as bad or worse as Hamas's actions, well, they need to sit this one out. Conflict has also flared up along Israel's northern frontier, where Hezbollah has launched new attacks over the weekend, using explosive drones and missiles against Israeli positions, drawing retaliatory airstrikes by Israel on multiple towns and villages in southern Lebanon. In a very interesting development, the Israeli defense forces, the IDF, for the first time, have indicated a projected timeline

for their military operations. According to a senior defense official, speaking to Axios, the IDF estimates that it will take an additional three to four weeks to complete the offensive in Kanunis and an equal amount of time to conclude the high-intensity phase of the conflict, so that would total around two months. This comes to spite pressure from the United States for Israel to expedite the process and conclude operations within a month. The official told Axios that while the U.S. would prefer the high-intensity combat phase to end by December,

Israel is preparing for operations to extend into the end of January. All right. On the international stage, I wanted to follow up on a story that we brought to you last week. The United Nations Security Council convened this past Friday to deliberate on a resolution that called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, an initiative prompted by UN Secretary General Antonio Gutierrez under the very infrequently used Article 99 of the UN Charter. The resolution, as expected, was vetoed by the United States. The final vote in the 15-member council was 13-1, with the United Kingdom abstaining. Nations that voted in favor of the resolution include China, well, there's a surprise, France and Russia.

Oh, look, another surprise. all of whom criticized the U.S. for exercising its veto power. All right, when we return, Vladimir Putin announces he'll run for a fifth term as Russia's president. And Hunter Biden faces a new indictment with nine charges, including several felonies. I'll be right back. Kayak gets my flight, hotel, and rental car right, so I can tune out travel advice that's just plain wrong. Bro, Skycoin. Way better than points.

Never fly during a Scorpio full moon. Just tell the manager you'll sue. Instant room upgrade. Stop taking bad travel advice. Start comparing hundreds of sites with kayak and get your trip right. Kayak, got that right. Welcome back. Vladimir Putin has declared his intention to seek re-election in Russia's presidential race

slated for March 24. His announcement came during a ceremony at the Kremlin, setting the stage for a campaign that could extend its leadership until at least 2030. This bid marks the 71-year-old Putin's potential fifth term, a tenure that has seen him at Russia's helm as either president or prime minister for over two decades. In the forthcoming elections, for the first time, residents of the eastern Ukrainian territories of Dhenz, Klujansk, Zaporizia, and Kersan will be allowed to cast votes. Russia voted to annex these areas last year.

Now, the election process in these regions will be conducted over three days, starting from March 15th, and will include House-to-house voting as per the Central Election Commission of Russia. And it goes without saying that this is an obvious effort by Putin to cement Russia's claim on Ukrainian territory that it is now occupied for several years. The White House, responding with sarcasm to Putin's re-election bid, highlighted the predictability of the electoral outcome under his regime. Spokesperson John Kirby quipped about the lack of genuine competition that Putin is likely to face, given his long-established dominance over Russian politics. Kirby said, quote,

Well, that's going to be one humdinger of a horse race, isn't it? End quote. No word yet on whether Putin has been able to figure out what the Russian equivalent of humdinger is. Since first ascending to power in 1999, Putin has navigated Russia's political landscape to maintain his position at its summit. Initially serving as prime minister, he moved into the presidency in 2000. Now, due to constitutional limits, he stepped back into the prime minister's role in 2008, only to return his president in 2012, a position he has held since. Putin's continued governance has been characterized by the suppression of political opposition, often through exile, incarceration,

or more nefarious means, and by that I mean poisoning those who get sideways with Putin. Although, to be fair, he did mix it up a bit by blowing up Yevgeny Progotion and his Wagner entourage, so maybe Putin was just getting bored with the poisoning stick. I want to turn now back to the United States, where the president's son Hunter Biden is facing new federal charges. The new charges include both felonies and misdemeanors and are connected to a long-running justice department investigation into his taxes. The indictment spanning nine counts accuses Biden of tax evasion, failure to file and pay taxes, and submitting false tax returns. These are all charges, of course, that would have landed normal rubs like you or me in federal prison in relatively quick time.

The document alleges that from 2016 to October 15, 2020, Biden diverted millions intended for taxes to fund an opulent lifestyle, including, quote, drugs, escorts, and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars, clothing, and other items of a personal nature, in short, everything but his taxes, end quote. Prosecutors further contend that Biden subverted the payrolls, system of his own company to withdraw funds outside standard procedures. Now, some of the more embarrassing claims include misappropriation of company funds for romantic,

really, romantic, or sexual liaisons, and mislabeling a payment for membership in a sex club as a, quote, golf member deposit. Now, there's no telling how many strokes he had to give up for that membership. The Justice Department has outlined a potential maximum prison term of 17 years if Biden is convicted on these charges. These new filings are on top of the gun charges from 2018, where he's accused of lying about illegal drug use while purchasing a firearm. In response, Hunter Biden's legal team has contested the charges, claiming that their client is being victimized due to his family name. Attorney Abbey Lull highlighted that the charges in Delaware and California would likely not have been pursued, if not for Biden's notable last name. Now, Lull said, quote, based on the facts and the law,

if Hunter's last name was anything other than Biden, the charges in Delaware and now California would not have been brought, end quote. Well, it seems like Loll got it completely bass backwards. The reality is, if Hunter's last name wasn't Biden, these charges would have landed him in jail years ago. The only thing that has kept him out of jail is his name. All right, coming up in the back of the brief, the fallout continues from the disastrous testimony before the House of Representatives given by several university presidents on the topic of anti-Semitism on college campuses. I'll be right back. This is Euphoria Calvin Klein, the new elixir collection featuring three perfume intense scents, inspired by a unique

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conduct on bullying or harassment. Instead, they explained it would depend on. the circumstances and context. Well, the first head is now rolling as Liz McGill resigned on Saturday as president of the University of Pennsylvania amid scathing criticism over her performance. Her resignation was announced by University of Pennsylvania's chairman of the Board of Trustees Scott Bach, who also took the opportunity to resign from his position. In the letter announcing McGill's resignation, Bach called her a, quote, very good person and a talented leader and not the slightest bit anti-Semitic." Now, here's a hint.

Anytime you're complimenting someone, and as part of the compliment, you feel the need to add, and they're not the slightest bit antisemitic. Well, you've got a serious problem. Yeah, I tell you, that guy, Bob, salt of the earth, smart, funny, and, you know, not the slightest bit antisemitic. Yeah, that would be an issue. McGill was facing a major backlash from the leaders of the university's

prominent Wharton School and a growing coalition of donors, politicians, and business leaders who denounced her testimony. Even before last week's testimony, she had already been under fire from prominent faculty, students, and alumni after multiple incidents of anti-Semitism on campus in recent months were met with a tepid response. Now, although she's stepping down as president, McGill will remain a tenured faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania's Cary Law School, because, as you know, once you're a tenured professor, you'd have to actually commit genocide to lose your position. The spotlight has now turned to McGill's counterparts from Harvard and MIT. Congresswoman Elise Stefonic of New York wrote on X, one down, two to go.

Obvious references to Harvard President Claudine Gay and MIT President Sally Cornbloth. And that, my friends, is the president's daily brief from Monday, 11 December. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back later today with the PDB afternoon bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.